[TowerTalk] 8X center migration in a coax choke?

[Steve Katz]

> Rob,
> 
> I use thousands of feet of the stuff and none of it is
> Belden.
> 
> I consider it cheap coax, so I'm rough on it. I have 300 ft
> long hunks hanging from high dipoles (I have a 318ft tower)
> and I don't worry. To keep the wind from blowing
> 
> ::Now, that's a good trick!  I wish I could stop the wind from blowing...!
> -WB2WIK/6
> 
> 
>  and
> breaking the shield from the connector I just wrap #17 steel
> wire right around the jacket tightly and tie it to a pipe
> driven in the ground that supports my antenna switch.
> 
> As for chokes.... I've been using chokes made with RG8X for
> years and never had a problem regardless of power level or
> stress. I use 4" maximum diameter. My 80 meter antennas have
> baluns over 10 years old. The ONLY problem is the white
> center insulation has powdered up where it is exposed to GA
> sunlight. I cut one back a few weeks ago until I got to new
> foam. This time I wrapped the foam in coax seal.
> 
> ::As for solid-dielectric RG8X type cable, Radioworks is now selling
> precisely that; advertised as "Super RG8X."  This design change obviously
> violates the original RG8X "spec," it would have to with a solid
> dielectric.  To maintain 50 Ohms Zo, they'd have to either make the center
> conductor smaller gauge, or change the cable diameter; not sure which they
> did, but I'd guess they decreased the center conductor gauge to maintain
> the same cable O.D. and still hit 50 Ohms.  If so, the "new Super RG8X"
> probably has a higher DWV (voltage) rating, but may actually have more
> loss, and a lower power handling ability, since most of the loss in coax
> is the skin resistance of the center conductor, and if you make that
> smaller, you're going in the wrong direction.  Anyway, you might want to
> look into this on the Radioworks website. -WB2WIK/6
> 
> 
>